Sandy shows need to address climate issue

In the past two years, New York has been hit hard by Tropical Storms Lee and Irene and most recently, Hurricane Sandy — all of which interrupted our lives and slowed the economy. One of my closest friends who lives on the south shore of Long Island had her home completely destroyed by flood waters during Sandy. Now her family is staying with friends until they can rebuild the home they’ve lost.

Global warming is apparently now more real than ever, and a warmer planet makes storms like Lee, Irene and Sandy much more common. In fact, because of global warming, powerful storms in New York now occur 64 percent more often and are 25 percent more severe than they were in 1948.

Unfortunately, these statistics have come to life in recent storms — the estimated cost from Sandy alone has reached more than $40 billion, in addition to the pain and suffering of people affected by the storm.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated that we need to “reduce the energy consumption that contributes to climate change,” but he failed to say clearly that we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to prevent further warming. It’s time for Cuomo to strengthen the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reduce our emissions and ensure a safer future.